Sunday, April 30, 2017

The Hermit Kingdom.
It’s a country that leaves many people wondering how exactly it came to be the
way it is. For many people, it represents the stereotypical dictatorship. For
others, it represents a perpetual problem and threat: a volcano due for its turn.
North Korea has certainly made the news in the recent years and especially as
of late. The stories I read about this country leave me bewildered (to say it
mildly). It’s almost seemingly the opposite of Western civilization as we know
it today. But what’s it really like? Few people have been allowed to venture
there and have reported back on what it’s like in their everyday lives.

The name Korea
stems from the word Goryeo (also spelled as Koryo). When Persian merchants
stopped by, they botched it and pronounced it as Korea. However, its current
version wasn’t used until the 17th century when Hendrick Hamel of
the Dutch East India Company wrote about it when they were shipwrecked in
Korea. After the countries split, it was given the distinction of being North
Korea vs. South Korea. North Korea became known as Chosun or Joseun, and in
English, its full name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

North Korea is
located on the Korean Peninsula (no kidding?) in East Asia, and get this—it’s
on the northern part of the peninsula. I’m totally not joking. Some places are
a misnomer (I’m looking at you Iceland and Greenland), but North Korea is
exactly where you think it is. It shares a border with South Korea to the south
(surprise!) and China to the north and a very short border with Russia in the
northeast corner. The Sea of Japan is to the east and the Yellow Sea (and Korea
Bay) is to the west. Mountain ranges cross the country; the highest point, a
volcanic mountain called Mt. Paektu, is over 9000 ft. There are coastal plains
in the west, and nearly 70% of the country is covered in forest. Summers are
hot and rainy while the winters are frigidly cold from the winds that blow in
from Siberia.

Kim Il-sung

The oldest remnants
of pottery in Korea dates back to around 8000BC. By the time we reached the
Iron Age, the peninsula was controlled by three kingdoms and eventually united
to form the Goryeo Dynasty. In the late 1300s, the Joseon Dynasty took over and
implemented a number of reforms including the adaptation of the Hangul (Korean)
alphabet. After a period of relative peace, the Korean peninsula began to be
invaded, which led to its initial isolation. By the mid-1800s, European powers
were making moves throughout Asia and the Pacific, and Korea was still unwilling
to modernize itself. After several rebellions and some socio-political changes,
they became known as the Korean Empire in 1897. Japan annexed Korea and
occupied the country in 1910. They began fighting the Japanese with guerilla
tactics, and one of the resistance leaders was Kim Il-sung. At the end of WWII
in 1945, Korea was divided along the 38th parallel, with the
northern part occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern part occupied by
the United States. (Keep in mind—no one consulted the Koreans on this matter.)
Kim Il-sung was recommended to become Chairman of what became North Korea. By
1949, most of the Soviets and Americans have bowed out, but there were rumors
that the North was going to invade the South. Those rumors proved true in June
1950 as the Korean War took off. It’s often used as an example of a “proxy war”:
a war where two powerful groups (Soviet Union and US) use other smaller groups
(North and South Korea) to fight the war instead. It still remains divided by
the DMZ (demilitarized zone). [Side note:
I once briefly dated a guy from South Korea who had to patrol the DMZ when he
was in the military. He once stepped on an old land mine and had to stand
perfectly still for nearly 8 hours as he waiting for people to fetch the land
mine expert and diffuse it. I have a hard enough time standing in line at the
grocery store.] After the war, North Korea remained isolated and introduced the
ideology of Juche to differentiate itself from other communist countries like
China and the Soviet Union. Juche is like libertarianism on steroids. After Kim
Jong-il took over in 1994, they got even more introverted and really fixated on
the military. During this time, North Korea began to suffer from food and
energy shortages. Today, Kim Jong-un is the one in charge and has apparently
done all of these “miraculous” feats (like his father and grandfather), and
he’s also really obsessed with nukes.

Situated along the
Taedong River, Pyongyang is North Korea’s capital city. With a population of
between 2.5–3.2 million people, the city is actually well planned: most of the
streets run either north-south or east-west. It’s not only the center of
government, but it’s also the center for commerce, education, transportation,
and industry. There are a few examples of modernity to its main attractions if
you were to look at its cityscape, but it’s contrasted with run-down, drab
buildings.

Because North Korea
has adamantly insisted upon their closed-door economic policies and strived to
be completely self-sufficient, their economy has suffered. Coupled with a
series of unfortunate events (famine, lack of arable land, natural disasters,
lack of skilled labor, low energy supplies, crumbling infrastructure, loss of
trading partners), North Korea’s economy basically went into the toilet. There
are electricity shortages. Everything is highly nationalized. Their healthcare
and education are free, housing and food receive huge subsidies, and taxes were
axed back in the 1970s. There are a few places where foreign companies can come
in and work, especially in fields like technology and science. But overall,
their economy is far behind that of its southern counterpart. However, I saw a headline
today that their economy may be slightly improving.

Technically
speaking, North Korea is an atheist state. But I think that it’s somewhat of a
misnomer and not fair to everyday atheists who for the most part, don’t really
care if someone follows a particular religion so long as it’s not forced on
everyone. But even at that, there are a few religions found in North Korea:
Korean shamanism, Chondoism (a Korean version of Confucianism), Buddhism, and
Christianity. Technically, the constitution grants freedom of religion, but
it’s also highly regulated and controlled by the government, and some religions
are highly persecuted as well. North Korea has also implemented this idea of
Songbun, a sort of loyalty ranking. It goes back two generations to determine
how much you support your government. The three leaders (Kim Il-sung, Kim
Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un) are treated like royalty and gods even. This is why I
falter at calling it an atheist state: because the government is their gods.
They want the people to live in awe and fear of them, never to speak ill
against them, and uphold the craziest accomplishments attributed to them (like
Kim Jong-un being able to drive at age 3, or Kim Jong-il walking at age 3 weeks
and talking at 8 weeks).

North Koreans also
speak Korean, but there are a few dialectal differences between the Korean
spoken in North and South Korea. The Korean used in South Korea incorporates
many loan words from Chinese and English and also uses hanja (writing Korean
words using Chinese characters). However, in North Korea, many of the loan
words have been changed to purely Korean words, and they don’t use hanja;
rather, they write Korean using choson’gul (the Korean alphabet, also called
hangul in South Korea).

Kim Jong-un with Dennis Rodman

Almost everyday, I
get a news pop-up on my phone about some crazy thing concerning North Korea
involving nuclear testing or something. Here’s your homework: I would also
suggest watching VICE’s 2008 documentary called “Inside North Korea” and watch
Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. But you should also check out the VICE episode from
Season 1, Episode 10 called “The Hermit Kingdom: Basketball Diplomacy”(2014). It’ll
give you an idea of what it’s really like over there. But in the meantime,
we’re going to TRY to delve into its cultural arts in a desperate attempt to
make sense of this country.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Well, Earth Day was
yesterday, and I missed the March for Science. It was cold and blustery here in
Indianapolis, and I subconsciously (or consciously?) turned my alarm off
instead of hitting snooze and woke up after it started. Oh, well. I was there
in spirit. But today is the day I get to make up for it: I’m making Norwegian
food today.

I rolled my meatballs in this. I feel like a genius.

My bread for today
is potato lefse. It most likely got its start from trying to figure out what to
do with the leftover mashed potatoes. And I forgot until this morning at around
1am that I was supposed to make the mashed potatoes a day before and
refrigerate it at least overnight. So… I woke up and made them this morning. Since
I normally make my bread first, I put this off until last in order to let my
potatoes sit as long as possible. To make the mashed potatoes, I boiled four
potatoes until they were soft, then I drained it and cut in 4 Tbsp of butter
until it melted, followed by a ½ tsp of salt and a ¼ c of heavy whipping cream.
I mixed everything until it was completely smooth. When it was finished sitting
in my fridge, I set up a space on my table with my pastry mat. I mixed my
mashed potatoes with a cup of flour and kneaded to incorporate it all. I had my
doubts since it was pretty crumbly at first. After I got it to somehow come
together, I formed it into a log and cut it into 12 pieces, rolling each into a
ball. I took one of these balls, rolled it in flour then flattened it out a
little with my palm. Then I took my floured rolling pin and rolled it out as
thin as I could without it breaking. Using a spatula, I carefully transferred
it to my hot skillet. It really only needs 1-2 minutes on each side before I
flipped it. There should be some brown speckles in it, and when it finally
started looking like it was done, I took it off and moved it to a plate. This
was the absolute best. I loved the flavor of this. It still definitely had a
mashed potato flavor to it, but in convenient flatbread form. However, mine was
very susceptible to falling apart. I’m definitely doing this again, though.

My butter sauce congealed a little by the time I took this photo, but the whole thing was wonderful!

There are two main
dishes today, all thanks to a super finicky son of mine. So, bring on the meat!
The first one I made is Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce. I bought four salmon
fillets with the skin still on them. I rinsed the fillets in cold water and
patted them dry with a paper towel. Then I seasoned them with some salt and
pepper before placing them in my skillet with some olive oil. After about 4-5
minutes on one side, I flipped it to the other side. When it was done, I
transferred it to a separate plate.To make the sauce, I mixed together some minced garlic, a ¼ c of lemon
juice, 1 tsp of salt, ½ tsp pepper in my blender and mixed until it’s smooth.
Then I added in a stick of butter that I cut into smaller pieces and blended
again. I poured this mixture into a saucepan and added in the capers, parsley,
and lemon zest and heated this together. When it was time to serve it, I
drizzled the sauce on top of the salmon. Of all the dishes I had my doubts
about, it was this one, but it turned out to be fantastic! Even my son thought
it was really good. (Haha, proved him wrong!) The sauce and the salmon just
went together like a cats and boxes. I would definitely make this again.

The perfect comfort food. I'll definitely be making this again.

The other main dish
I made was Norwegian Meatballs. I was curious how this would be different from
Swedish meatballs, but from what I’ve gathered, the Swedish counterpart has a
few more ingredients involved. In one of my larger bowls, I mixed together some
milk and some cornstarch. Then I added in my ground beef, onion, salt, pepper,
egg, and nutmeg, and I mixed until everything was well blended. At this point,
I covered it and put it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Once it was
chilled, I formed 1-inch balls and browned the meatballs in a skillet with hot oil.
When each meatball was done, I removed them from the skillet and put them on a
different plate and set it off to the side. I used some lean beef, so there
wasn’t much drippings left, so I added in a little extra oil in the skillet. In
a separate bowl, I mixed together the beef broth and some cornstarch until it
was blended before pouring it into the skillet. I brought this to a boil and
let it cook until it thickened (about 2-3 minutes maybe?), then I added my
meatballs back into the sauce. I covered it and let it cook for about 5-8
minutes. Just before I removed it from the heat, I added in a little bit of
sour cream to the mix and stirred so that it was all mixed well. This dish was
wonderful–the perfect comfort food. We all agreed this would’ve been much
better on some wide egg noodles.

Tasty for the entire year!

Finally, to go with
all of this, I made Norwegian Christmas Cabbage. In the bottom of my pot, I
laid a couple of slices of bacon. Then I layered it with some shredded cabbage
(I bought a package of angel hair cole slaw mix, which is nothing but shredded
cabbage). On top of the cabbage, I sprinkled a little bit of flour, some
caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. I went on layering like this until I used up
my bacon and cabbage, adding in enough water to almost reach the top of the cabbage-bacon
level. Putting the pot over a medium heat, I let it cook for about 45 minutes
before taking it off the heat. After letting it cool for a bit, I drained a lot
of the water off of it and mixed in a little vinegar and sugar and stirred. This
was actually pretty good, and I’m glad I opted for a bag of shredded cabbage
instead of doing it myself. I thought it was good with the shredded cabbage as
opposed to larger sections of the leaves. And it certainly saved time. The
recipe suggested using white wine vinegar but I didn’t realize I was out so I
opted to use apple cider vinegar instead. I think next time I’ll use the white
wine vinegar like I was supposed to.

10/10 stars!! Clearly the winner for today!

It’s been a while
since I’ve made a meal where every dish came out well. I’ve learned quite a bit
since I started this about four years ago, but there are still things I mess
up. And sometimes the recipes I choose aren’t the best written ones. (And sometimes
it’s just that I don’t read the directions carefully.) But I have to say that
when I’m tired, frustrated, and my feet hurt, my husband will come in and give
his second opinion, and sometimes even do part of the work for me. And 99 times
out of 100, he’ll get the dishes afterwards, even when I trash the kitchen.
(Oh, he’ll chide me of course.) This would be way harder to do if it weren’t
for him. And for that, here’s my thanks: I keep him well fed.

Most likely, the
earliest musical traditions stemmed from the Vikings. There have been a few
artifacts that led anthropologists to piece together their musical traditions.
However, the music of Norway can generally be divided into two parts:
traditional and modern.

Hardanger fiddle

Vocal music of the
North Germanic style included many different kinds of songs from ballads and
short, improvised songs to work songs and hymns. Sami vocal music centered
around a style called joik. It’s been described as sounding similar to the
chanting you hear from some Native American music traditions. Epic folk songs
are probably the most important musical form of vocal music. They often tell
stories of heroes and historical accounts, often with a flair for the dramatic
and tragic.

Instrumental folk
music pretty much doubles as dance music. There are two different kinds of form
you’ll find in dance music: two-beat (halling, gangar, or rull) and three-beat
(springar or springleik). Quite a few dances from other areas of Europe made
its way to Norway such as the fandango, mazurka, waltz, and polka. Music and
dance go hand-in-hand, and since much of Norway’s folk music is dance music,
many of the dances were named after the particular style of music. One dance is
the halling. Although it’s mainly danced in the rural areas of Norway, the
halling dance is also found in areas of Sweden as well. This dance, typically
performed by men at weddings and parties, is a fast dance with rhythmic and
acrobatics moves.

Probably one of the
most dominant, if not iconic, instruments in Norwegian music is the Hardanger
fiddle. It’s generally played just like a regular violin, except that the
performer plays on two strings at the same time. There are other smaller
differences between the two, but the most notable one is the highly decorated
outside, sometimes inlaid with goldleaf or other materials. I showed photos of
the Hardanger fiddle to my daughter who plays violin, and we agreed it’s one of
the most beautiful instruments ever. It’s a key instrument in most of the dance
music. Other instruments you’ll hear in folk music include the lur (an older
horn instrument similar to a trumpet), the bukkehorn (a goat horn), the
langeleik (a box dulcimer), the harpeleik (chorded zither), the tungehorn (type
of clarinet), the Melhus (another type of clarinet), and the seljefløyte (a
willow flute).

While Norway has
produced a number of very talented classical composers, the most well known one
is probably Edvard Grieg. He was one of the more prominent composers of the
Romantic era, and like Dvorak in the Czech Republic or Sibelius in Finland,
Grieg often worked traditional folk tunes into his works. Grieg’s most famous
work, at least in my opinion, is his Peer
Gynt suite. (Peer Gynt was
originally written as a play by Henrik Ibsen.) If you’ve ever watched cartoons,
you’ll know this suite. Look up the songs “Morning Mood” and “In the Hall of
the Mountain King.”

I feel like I only
sampled a little off the top when it comes to modern Norwegian music. I mean, I
didn’t even get to some whole genres like metal rock. However, I listened to
the blues musician Bjørn Berge. I’m already a fan of blues, and I know that
sometimes the term “blues” gets thrown around to mean a wide variety of styles,
but this really didn’t disappoint. Sung in English, it sometimes reminds me a
little of Celtic/Irish music and sometimes a little country. I think his song
“Zebra” put him on the map.

So, I listened to
the band Röyksopp. They are the quintessential 1980s electronic band. I imagine
they were what Shiny Toy Guns listened to for inspiration. It also makes me
think of video game music or cheesy movie soundtracks. However, I kind of like
it in a way.

The group Side Brok
is a rap group that has no problem with stretching the genre. They create a
completely different feel between songs by use of string instruments, changing
up the instumentation, and even bringing in other genes like reggae. Of course,
they rap in Norwegian, so I’m not sure what they’re saying.

Another hip-hop
group I came across is Karpe Diem. They represent the minority hip-hop groups
that have started popping up in Norway. One member is of Egyptian-Norwegian
origin and the other is of Indian origin. I liked what I heard from them. It
seems genuine.

Stella Mwangi is a
Kenyan-Norwegian musician whose had hits all over the world and featured in a
number of TV shows and movies. Her music is kind of mix of pop, dance, and
hip-hop. I think it’s fairly catchy.

Tommy Tee has been
in on the rap scene for a while and has his own radio show about the rap scene.
Ok, so I took a listen to his newest album Bonds,
Beats and Beliefs Vol. 2 that came out last year. I actually really like
what I’ve heard. The first track “The Plague” is my favorite—it starts off with
a sound bite of Bernie Sanders.

Of course, I had no
idea the group a-ha was Norwegian. If you don’t know who they are, you’re
probably young. They formed in 1982 and have played off and on ever since. Their
most famous song “Take On Me” is one of the most iconic songs from the canon of
1980s pop music.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Norwegian artists
generally followed many of the trends of European art. And generally speaking,
Norwegian art is considered part of the larger Scandinavian art category.

Viking art was one
of the leading periods of not only Norwegian art but was a prominent period in
European art at the time it thrived. Evidence of Viking art can be found across
Scandinavia, Iceland, and the British Isles. Metalwork was particularly
popular, like what can be seen in penannular brooches (similar to what Ned
Stark wears in Game of Thrones), weathervanes,
weapons, jewelry, and coins. Viking ships also have a very distinct shape.
Sculptures called runestones dot the countryside across Scandinavia and other
Northern countries. These runestones are often highly carved but can vary
depending on the time and location in which they were created.

Johan Christian
Dahl is often considered the “Father of Norwegian Landscape Painting.” He led
the way for other landscape painters like Johannes Flintoe, Adolph Tidemand, Kitty
Kielland, and Harriet Backer.

by Harald Sohlberg

The latter part of
the 1800s saw a rise in the prominent artistic movements of the day:
Impressionism and Neo-Romanticism. Artists like Harald Sohlberg, Lars
Hertervig, Frits Thaulow, Christian Krohg, Nikolai Astrup, and Thorolf Holmboe
were among the more prominent artists in these movements.

Probably the most
well-known Norwegian artist is Edvard Munch (pronounced like “monk,” not
“munch”). He helped to influence the Symbolism and Expressionism movements. Munch’s
famous painting, “The Scream,” is recognized throughout the world. It’s always been
a favorite of mine for many reasons. It perfectly sums up working a corporate
job.

The vast majority
of Norwegian literature is written in the Norwegian language, at least in
modern times. The earliest forms of literature were the Eddic poems of the 9th
and 10th centuries. Many inscriptions were written in the runic
alphabet during this time period. However, as Christianity spread, they also
brought along the Latin alphabet. Old Norse literature was often linked to
Icelandic literary traditions, and they shared many commonalities. During this
time, religious texts, historical accounts, and stories chronicling the kings
were quite common.

However, from about
the latter part of the 1300s up until their independence, Norwegian literature
saw a latent period. Nothing significant was written during this time, or at
least, there wasn’t much evidence of any. Henrik Ibsen referred to this period
as the “Four Hundred Years of Darkness.” I mean, there were some works that
stemmed from this era, but in comparison with times before and after, it was
pretty lacking. More like “Four Hundred Years of Writers Block.”

After Norway gained
its independence, there was a surge in many of the cultural arts, literature
included. The first university was established in what is now Oslo in 1811,
three years before their independence. From that point, Oslo and other cities
became havens for writers to hone their craft and publish books and papers in
Norwegian, spreading across Scandinavia and then the world. The “father of a
new Norwegian literature” is often attributed to Henrik Wergeland. While Germany
had the Brothers Grimm and Denmark had Hans Christian Andersen, Norway had
Peter Asbjørnsen and Bishop Jørgen Moe to spread Norwegian folk tales.

As the late 19th
century rolled around, four Norwegian writers became quite prominent—dubbed The
Great Four—Alexander Kielland, Jonas Lie, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, and Henrik
Ibsen. Ibsen is mostly known for his plays, especially A Doll’s House and A Wild
Duck (both of which I’ve read). When I graduated from high school, a friend
of mine who I had acted with gave me a copy of six plays by Ibsen. I still have
it on my shelf. And of course, he’s a staple in college literature classes.

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

As we rolled over
into the 20th century, literature took on much more of a social and
political commentary and a post-modern standpoint. There have been three
Norwegian writers who have won Nobel Prizes in Literature: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
(1903, Union between Sweden and Norway), Knut Hamsun (1920), and Sigrid Undset
(1928, born in Denmark).

Monday, April 17, 2017

I have had a keen
interest with Norway for quite some time now. I think it started when I worked
at Concordia Language Villages and was introduced to the Norwegian camp called Skogfjorden.
I worked at the Japanese camp, but one year, we had a girl who worked with us who
also had worked at the Norwegian camp. The first time I ever heard the Norwegian
language was when she read me the Norwegian version of the famous book
“Everybody Poops.” It was such a memorable moment for me.

The name Norway as
we know it in English comes from the Old English name for it: Nor∂rveg(r),
which roughly meant “northern way.” The Norse have two names for their country:
Noreg in Nynorsk, and Norge in Bokmål. (I’ll explain the
difference in a minute. Keep reading.) It was eventually Latinized as
Northuagia, Northwegia, Norwegia, Nortmannus, Norwei, Norwey, and finally
Norway.

Norway is located
in northern Europe and considered part of the Scandinavian countries. Its
western shore touches the Norwegian Sea, which is just east of the North
Atlantic Ocean and north of the North Sea (that’s really north!). Just across
the Skagerrak Strait on Norway’s southern coast is the country of Denmark. And
much of its eastern border is shared with Sweden. However, in the far north,
Norway wraps around the northern end of this region and borders Finland and
Russia. Norway also includes the islands known as Svalbard (almost due north in
the Barents Sea), the smaller island Jan Mayen (in the Norwegian Sea between
Norway and Greenland), and the island of Bouvet (in the South Atlantic Ocean
north of Antarctica). The Swedish border is lined with the Scandinavian
Mountains while the western coast is carved out with fjords and coastal
ravines. There are areas that experience permafrost all year round (not a place
for me), but the southern portions of the country enjoy some decent dry and
moderately warm summers. Norway is a haven for many animals that thrive in the
northern climes.

The earliest artifacts
of life in Norway were found along the coast. As the cultures and civilizations
grew and developed better weapons and tools, they also began to trade (and
start fights). Much of their subsistence was tied to fishing and the sea and
some agriculture. Starting in the 8th century, the Vikings became
the big thing. The Vikings were seafarers who also explored and traded, often
with force. In 872, Harold Fairhair (according to tradition) was the one who
united Norway and ruled as its first king. From about the 10th
century, the Norse philosophies began to give way to Christian ones. During the
mid-1300s, the Black Death killed off more than half of the population. Denmark,
Sweden (which also included parts of Finland at that point), and Norway entered
a union called the Kolmar Union. A little over a hundred years later, Sweden
left. Norway and Denmark actually remained together until 1814. Protestantism
was introduced during the mid-1500s. Norway was hit with several famines
between the end of the 1600s and 1800. The country decided to declare its own
independence in 1814 and named Christian Frederick as its first king. This was
a period of nationalism that followed this, which was when many of their
cultural arts started to expand. During WWI, Norway tried to remain neutral,
but Britain picked them for their team. They tried to remain neutral again in
WWII, but Germany invaded and picked first. Norwegian forces pushed the Germans
back and became allies with the UK and US. Oil was discovered in 1969. During
the 1980s and 1990s, Norway’s economy grew through a series of reforms set by
conservative policies, and all of their foreign debt was paid off. There were a
couple of terrorist attacks in 2011 and I remember watching it on TV. It was
done by some crazy dude that looks like the character Silas from The Da Vinci Code (Silas’ picture pulls
up if you go to Google Images and search for “guy from Da Vinci Code.”)

The capital of Norway
is Oslo, located on the southern coast along the Oslofjord. This city of about
a million people (according to estimated 2017 stats) was first settled around
the year 1000. However, it wasn’t established as the capital city until 1299.
Today, Oslo is a major world city and serves as a center for commerce,
government, education, and the arts. Several museums, galleries, and theatres
are found throughout this compact city. Not surprising, but winter sports are
quite popular in Norway, and there are several venues for skiing, ice hockey, but
also for football/soccer.

Norway is the
second richest country in Europe. It consistently ranked toward the top of
lists of stable, high-functioning countries. Using a combination of capitalism
and social democracy, Norwegians enjoy a high quality of life. Public
healthcare is free (for the most part), and there are no tuition fees to study
at the university level, even for international students (for the most part).
Parents even have 46 weeks of paid parental leave (which is about 46 more weeks
than the US offers), and the country generally has a low unemployment rate.
However, the cost of living is very expensive in Norway (Norway has some of the
highest gas prices in the world at over USD$9!), even though there are many
corporate headquarters in Norway, and it has a number of natural resources and
natural gas.

The Church of
Norway used to be the official religion, and the constitution still requires
that the king adhere to Lutheranism. Many people are still “affiliated” with a
church for its basic rites, but by 2010, those who attend on a regular weekly
basis have dropped to an estimated 2%. Roman Catholicism is the second most
followed denomination and a number of other denominations are found here as
well. As Norway became more diverse in its population, other Eastern religions have
also been represented here. Norse Paganism, and that especially of the Viking
Age, flourished before the introduction of Christianity. It was forbidden in
many areas, but it remained alive in some of its traditions, celebrations,
names of people, and names of days of the week.

Norway has two
official languages: Norwegian and Sami. And when it comes to Norwegian, there
are two versions: Bokmål and Nynorsk. While both are used in education,
government, churches, and the media, the vast majority of the people write in
Bokmål rather than Nynorsk (which are both only used for written Norwegian).
And many people speak a different dialect that differs quite a bit from the
written form. Norwegian is quite similar to Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and
Icelandic, and all of these are generally mutually intelligible. Many
Norwegians study English as a second language, but some choose French, German,
or Spanish instead.

The US state of
Minnesota has the largest population of Norwegians outside of Norway. I learned
about this when I used to work there during my summers. Many of their
traditions and names trace back to their Norwegian roots. You’ll also find a
ton of Lutheran churches up there, too. Norwegians have also had their hand at
exploring and relocating to other areas too, like Greenland and Dublin,
Ireland. The country has certainly contributed to the world of literature, art,
music, and politics. I’m pretty excited to learn about some of famous
composers, authors, and artists I didn’t realize were Norwegian.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

So, I took a couple weeks off, kind of unexpectedly. But hey,
this is a seven-year project, so I’m owed a few breaks every now and then,
right? I used this break to fight a little bit of sickness thanks to this
stupid weather and a newfound allergy to MSG, but I also worked on my research
for a novel I’m writing. I’ve been reading about the medical histories of the
First Ladies of the United States this week. It’s been really interesting, and
I’m absolutely grateful I live in the era of modern medicine.

This is the most beautiful thing I've seen all day.

But now it’s time to get back to work on Nigerian food. The
bread today was a hands-down choice: Agege bread. First I started with my
scalded dough enhancer (something I’ve never done): I put about ¾ c of
all-purpose flour in a medium bowl, and then I poured 100 mL of boiling water
on top of it. I quickly stirred it to incorporate all of it together and put a
lid on it. I set it off to the side for about an hour until it was completely
cool. (It can actually sit for 12 hours.) Mine immediately converted in to
rough looking dough balls. Once it was cool, I put 3 c of flour into a large
bowl and mixed in 3 Tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp salt, and one packet of active yeast.
After making a well in the center of the flour, I poured in my scalded flour and
140mL of lukewarm water (that was supposed to have 2 Tbsp dried milk in it, but
my husband moved it and didn’t tell me where it was). Once I stirred everything
together, I let it rest for about 10 minutes. My dough was absolutely too dry,
so I ended up adding in another ½ c or so of water to help it come together before
turning out the dough onto my floured pastry mat. Although it was pretty
sticky, I kneaded it for about 15-20 minutes. The recipe recommended do a
“stretch, slap, and fold method” of kneading. At this point, it cut in my 3 ½
Tbsp of butter into the dough. I cut up my butter into small pieces so that
it’ll be easier to fold into it. And I spent another 10-15 minutes kneading my
butter into the dough just to make sure it was cut in well. I could really feel
it in my hands from all the kneading! Then I formed it into a ball, put it in a
greased bowl and covered it with a damp towel (I actually used cheesecloth) for
an hour so it could rise. When the hour was up, I punched it down and divided
the dough into three smaller balls. I re-covered them for about 10 minutes
while I prepared my greased loaf pan. I rolled each ball out into a log shape
and laid them in the loaf pan. Then I covered it again and let it rest for
another half hour. I brushed the top of the bread with a little melted butter
(you can also give it an egg wash) before baking this for about 28-30 minutes
in a 375ºF oven. This bread was not only beautiful to look at, its flavor and
texture were nearly perfect. The outside had a nice crown, but the inside was
soft and the crumb’s tiny air bubbles created this light texture that pulled
apart easily. I’m trying to figure out why the Nigerians were keeping this such
as secret??

The consensus was that this was meh. Not horrific, not fantastic. I'm probably the one who liked it the best. Chef's bias.

The main dish today is Asaro, or Yam Porridge. I washed,
peeled, and cubed four sweet potatoes (in lieu of yams) and placed them in a
large pot. Then I diced my onions and mixed it with just a little bit of
crushed red pepper (or more if your family’s not a bunch of wimps like mine). I
set my onions and pepper mix off to the side. I added enough water to the sweet
potatoes to cover them and started boiling my water. Once I got a good boil
going, I added in my onion mix, some chicken broth, some smoked fish (I used canned
smoked trout), and a little bit of the canola oil included in the fish (in lieu
of palm oil – I actually found it, but it was $8, and I knew I wouldn’t use it
enough to justify the cost). I covered the pot and kept cooking it enough until
the sweet potatoes were soft, adding in a little salt and pepper along the way
and stirring occasionally. Just after I turned off the heat, I added in some
baby spinach and parsley and stirred, but I realized it was not boiling down to
a porridge consistency. So, I let it boil some more. And then my husband helped
me transfer it to a smaller pot. I even smashed some of the sweet potatoes a
little, leaving some larger pieces still in there. Finally, we just poured off
most of the liquid, and it really didn’t taste that bad. Well, it wasn’t as horrible
as I thought it was going to be. If you eat it with the bread, it’s actually
pretty tasty. Even the kids ate some without complaint. I think it would be
better if I had some grilled meat of some sort with it.

This was wonderful -- the hit of the evening, besides the bread, of course.

To go with this and even serve as a dessert, I made Nigerian
Fruit Salad. This variation included cubed papayas (I used golden papayas this
time instead of the maradol papayas that I usually go with), a cubed gala apple,
a couple of sliced bananas, part of a can of pineapple tidbits, a ½ c of orange
juice, 1 Tbsp of sugar, and ½ tsp of ground cinnamon. I mixed all of this
together and let it chill for a couple of hours. I topped it with shredded
coconut just before serving. This was really good. The orange juice (along with
the cinnamon and sugar) really made this taste good without being too tart. I
will probably make this again if I have to bring a fruit salad somewhere. I
actually want to get some vanilla ice cream and put this on top. Leave it to me
to take something healthy and turn it to the dark side. (Like a dark chocolate
drizzle?)

Overall, this was a pretty good meal. Pretty tasty if I may say so.

Although this took a lot longer than I originally intended, I’m
glad I finally got around to making Nigerian food. Nigeria is a country that
has quite a bit to offer, yet there are a lot of misconceptions about it. It’s
a country of extremes. People in the cities enjoy many of the modern ways of
life, but even at that, there are still some slums in the background. Other
rural areas of the country struggle with access to clean water and medical
supplies, not to mention the complicated situation with gaining access to these
basic human needs when it comes to areas overrun by desertification and
terrorist groups. Some areas have people working for major national and
international companies – including the Nigerian space program, while other
areas have people escaping their hometowns as refugees. But if there’s one
thing I noticed that binds all the people, no matter their ethnic origins, is
their appreciation for the land and the rhythm of their people. Music and the
arts is their language, a way of expression and identification. And you can’t
help but be drawn into that vibrant aura of being Nigerian.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Although there are not a lot of details on the early music of
Nigeria, there are carvings that show musicians in their craft. For the vast
majority of the time—no matter the culture—traditional music was performed for
either a ceremony or ritual of some sort, whether it be a funeral or wedding or
for some community purpose. Much of their music is tied to the land or
agriculture (like growing season and harvest season).

Both men and women sing work songs while doing daily tasks.
Complex rhythms help keep feelings of monotony at bay—well, as much as can be
expected. As far as vocals go, call-and-response is the most common choral
form. The extreme northern regions of the country have more Islamic influences
on their music that can be seen in its use of drums with single-line melodic
lines.

One of the central instruments of West African music is the
xylophone. Typically these instruments are made from wood planks that are laid
on logs from banana trees. This is laid on top of resonators, usually made from
hollowed out logs. A number of other percussion instruments are used such as
bells, struck gourds, scrapers (either on shells or notched sticks), rattles,
and a number of different kinds of drums (including the famous talking drums like in the video above). A few kinds of stringed instruments
are found here as well, including the musical bow. It looks like a bent wooden
stick with a single metal string connecting the ends and is resonated by the
mouth as the string is either plucked or bowed. An arched harp is found along
the eastern side of the country and has five or six strings tuned to the
pentatonic scale (think of just the black keys on a piano). There are also a
number of other trumpets, thumb pianos, shawms, flutes, horns, and clarinets
played in Nigerian music.

Nigeria has a lot of diversity in its dance traditions, and many
of these depend on the specific tribe these traditions emerged out of. Granted,
there may be similarities that are spread out among certain regions. I’m
highlighting a few of the more common or interesting dances found in Nigeria:
Swange Dance (popular among Tiv people, danced by men and women), Ukwata Dance
(religious dance of the Abbi people), Ikpirikpi-ogu (war dance), Adamma Masquerade
Dance (male Igbo dancers with a female as the masquerade), Gese Dance (Yoruba
religious dance), Ekombi Dance (feminine dance from Efik peoples, a dance of
grace), Ohogho Dance (a Benin dance used to ward off evil spirits), Bata Dance
(this acrobatic Yoruba dance is associated with the God of Thunder), and the
Nkwa umu-Agbogho Dance (this “maiden dance” shows off rhythmic chest and waist
movements).

As far as modern musicians go, the first I listened to is Segun
Adewale (not to be confused with a businessman who is also known as Segun
Aeroland). He’s considered the father of Yo-pop, which is a mix of funk, jazz,
reggae, Afro-beat, and juju music. He also worked together with Sir Shina
Peters, who is an accomplished juju musician. Both styles are heavily reliant
on a constant rhythm underneath the music.

And then there’s Fela Kuti. Although his main genres are
Afrobeat and highlife, there’s quite a bit of jazz included, and many times
it’s quite reminiscent of funk, soul, and even disco. I really liked what I
listened to. And apparently there was a Broadway musical based on his life. Who
knew? Lagbaja is an Afrobeat musician whose music makes heavy use of the bass
in a few of his songs. Gotta love some bass. Although some of the styles
reminds me of some of the popular styles of the late 1980s into the 1990s.

I really enjoyed listening to Olamide. A hip hop artist, I
appreciated the acoustic music underneath the lyrics and the change up in
styles between songs. I listened to his album The Glory, and there were a few songs that sounded like it could be
on mainstream radio. Another hip-hop artist I came across is Vector (thankfully
not the guy with the squid gun in Despicable
Me). Overall, I like his style. He mixes up the styles between his songs,
and there’s just something about it I like.

I also listed to Ice Prince. He’s actually won several awards
for his rap albums and songs. After sampling several of his songs, I can tell
why. I liked what I heard. I listened to part of the album Fire of Zamani, and to me, it’s pretty chill but it has a little
bit of a reggae feel to it at the heart of it. The beat is different, but I
think it’s still there deep down inside of it all.

Finally, I just discovered Mr Eazi today. Although he was born
and raised in Nigeria, he moved to Ghana to get a degree in mechanical
engineering. His music is really chill – I love it. Even though part of his
catch phrase is “zaga dat,” which reminds me of Beanie Man's. He just released his
mixtape Life is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra to
Lagos, which I hope means there’s a volume two coming later.

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About Me

I'm really nerdy. I have several writing projects going on, and I also have a really long list of books I'm working my way through; I'm still adding books to it, so in essence, I'll never get through it. I'm an amateur food and culture blogger, an amateur baker and cook, an amateur musicologist, an amateur grammarian, an amateur know-it-all, and a professional dreamer. Follow me on Twitter: @KayoSmada.